Goals for East River Park – East River Park ACTION

We deserve a better plan

People have been asking, “Why don’t you like the city’s flood control plan, and what do you want?” Here’s a summary of my take. What do you think?

East River Park ACTION opposes the city’s destructive flood control plan. It is an environmental injustice to inflict the dire mental and physical health effects of closing, ravaging, and rebuilding the park the way the city has planned.

Promenade under construction from 2005 to 2011 — The city claims that they can complete their preferred plan in 3 1/2 years– do you believe that? I poked my camera through the chain link fence to get this view of the years-long untouched construction site that was the East River Promenade after 9/11. It was closed in 2001, construction began in 2005, and was completed in 2011.

We support a plan that provides flood control with minimal destruction of existing parkland and biodiversity. It should leave much of the park open during construction. It should also be constructed in an environmentally forward-thinking manner that will give us a resilient coastline to help absorb storm surges. Previous plans and suggestions from the community and experts can be adapted.

We support interim flood protection to protect the neighborhood and to protect the park from the city’s rushing to start the current misguided flood control plan.

We support further expansion of East River Park over the FDR and new concepts for use of the highway as a way to improve the health of our neighborhood and our world climate.

east river park